GM Tu of Vietnam to play in 2007 Canadian Open

GM Tu Hoang Thong, a four-time Champion of Vietnam, is confirmed to play in the 2007 Canadian Open Chess Championship.

GM Tu of Saigon, is rated 2472 FIDE. He is just 35, but since 1990 he has played nine times on Vietnam's national team at the Chess Olympiads. He has also competed in the Asian Team Championships, playing on the Vietnamese team that finished second in 2005 behind India.

GM Tu was the South East Asia Champion in 2003 and Australian Masters Champion in 1997. He is a childhood friend of Montreal IM Duong Thanh Nha.

GM Tu is one of 15 Grandmasters confirmed to play in the 2007 Canadian Open, which has a projected prize fund of $25,000 based on 200 paid entries. So far, More than 166 players of all levels are registered.

The 2007 Canadian Open will be staged July 7 to 15 at the Ottawa Marriott. For more information, and to register or reserve accommodation, visit: www.canchess.ca

Toronto's IM Samsonkin to play in 2007 Canadian Open

Seventeen-year-old IM Artem Samsonkin of Toronto is confirmed to play in the 2007 Canadian Open Chess Championship.

IM Samsonkin, rated 2373 FIDE and formerly of Belarus, recently settled in Toronto. Soon after, he won the Toronto Active Championship ahead of IMs Michael Schliefer and Leonid Gerzhoy. IM Samsonkin is a product of the Soviet school of coaching and has been a coach himself for the past two years.

The 2007 Canadian Open will be staged July 7 to 15 at the Ottawa Marriott. Almost 160 players are registered so far, including 15 Grandmasters. GMs Nigel Short, Vadim Milov and Sergey Tiviakov lead the pack. The event's prize fund is projected at $25,000 based on 200 paid entries.

The entry fee is $125 until May 31. After, until July 6, the fee is $150. On site, the fee will be $175.

Until June 6, the Ottawa Marriott offers a great discount to Canadian Open players: $89/night for a single or double, $99 for a triple and $109 for a quad room.

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GM Mikhalevski to play in 2007 Canadian Open

GM Victor Mikhalevski of Israel has confirmed his participation in the 2007 Canadian Open Chess Championship.

No stranger to Canada's chess community, GM Mikhalevski, who is rated 2590 FIDE, has played in Canadian tournaments every summer for the last four years. He won the Quebec Open in 2003. GM Mikhalevski "is both a very exciting chess player and a great person," says Canadian GM Mark Bluvshtein.

GM Mikhalevski's participation in the 2007 Canadian Open is made possible by the kind assistance of the Embassy of Israel in Ottawa.

GM Mikhalevski will celebrate his 35th birthday during the 2007 Canadian Open. He is renowned for his theoretical knowledge of the Grunfeld Defence and he also oversees the Kings Indian Defence coverage at the opening theory website www.chesspublishing.com.

GM Mikhalevski was born in Gomel, in the former Belorussia, USSR, which is now the Republic of Belarus, in 1972 and started to play chess at the age of 6.

Coached during his formative years by his brother, IM Alexander Mikhalevski, he won not less than five Belarus championships for his age category and thus participated in five Junior USSR Championships.

In 1991 the Mikhalevski family moved to Israel. Two months later I shared 2-3rd place in the Israeli Open Championship. Later the same year and also in 1992 he won two Junior Israeli Championships. In the summer of 1991 participated in the Junior World Championship. IM from 1993, GM from 1996.

Here are some of GM Mikhalevski's best results:

• 1996 - Co-winner of Israel Championship with GMs Psakhis and Yudasin
• 1997 - 1st place in the International Festival in Rishon-Lezion, Israel (ahead of GMs Smirin, Psakhis, Goldin and many others)
• 1998 - Vice-Champion of Israel ( lost in the Finals on third tie-break to GM Liss winning on the way against GMs Avrukh, Psakhis and Gruenfeld )
• 2002 - Qualified for the last 16 in 6th Corsica Masters in Bastia, France (rapid) making a draw with Anand
• 2003- 1st place in the Quebec Open
• 2003- 1st place in the Second International tournament in San Salvador, El Salvador 7.5 out of 9
• 1991-2002 many times Israel Team Champion and Israel Cup Champion in the team of Beer-Sheva Chess Club

The 2007 Canadian Open will be staged July 7 to 15 at the Ottawa Marriott. For more information, visit: www.canchess.ca

2007 Canadian Open: $25,000 prize fund

The organizers of the 2007 Canadian Open Chess Championship are pleased to announce that the event's projected prize fund has been increased from $20,000 to $25,000 based on 200 paid entries.

The increase has been made possible because of the generous corporate sponsorship and donations received by the event to date. Chief among them is the support from gold sponsors Hill & Knowlton Canada and Magmic Games.

The prize fund's proposed breakdown is as follows:

Projected $25,000 prize fund based on 200 paid entries

Open: 5000, 3000, 2000, 1200, 700, 600, 500, 400

Class Prizes:

U2400: 1200, 650, 450

U2200: 1100, 600, 400

U2000: 1000, 550, 350

U1800: 850, 450, 300

U1600: 700, 350, 250

UNR: 250, 150

Special Prizes

Top Junior (18 or under) : 400, 200

Top Woman: 400, 200

Top Veteran (60 + ) : 400, 200

Biggest upset (largest difference by rating): 200

Age prizes – age determined as of July 7, 2007.

Plus: $1,000 to be awarded to players achieving the highest cumulative scores in the Canadian Open and the top section of the Quebec Open combined. Prize split TBD.

In the works are a blitz tournament with an augmented prize fund and a bughouse tournament.

The 2007 Canadian Open is to be staged from July 7 to 15 at the Ottawa Marriott. So far, more than 140 players are registered, or which roughly 120 are paid entrants.

Some important deadlines:

• After May 31st, the entry fee of $125 CAD increases to $150 CAD. It is $175 CAD at the venue.
  
• The rates at the Marriott ($89 CAD /night single /double, add $10 CAD for triple and $20 CAD for quad) are available only until June 6th, after which they increase quite steeply.

Basic event information: www.canchess.ca

MonRoi's classy site: www.monroi.com/tournamentgate/CanOpen07/index.html

Online registration for the Canadian Open: http://canchess.myshopify.com/

Online reservations for the Ottawa Marriott: http://cwp.marriott.com/yowmc/chess/

Players registered in the Canadian Open: http://cocycc.pbwiki.com/CORegisteredPlayers

About our gold sponsors:

Hill & Knowlton Canada is Canada's industry leader in public relations,
public affairs and strategic communications. (www.hillandknowlton.ca)


Magmic Games, based in Ottawa, is a leading developer and publisher of
mobile entertainment, offering a wide variety of action, sports, casino,
puzzle, and multiplayer games for BlackBerry, J2ME, Brew, and Sidekick
handsets. (www.magmic.com)

Legendary GM Borislav Ivkov to play in Canadian Open

The renowned Serbian GM Borislav Ivkov is confirmed to play in the 2007 Canadian Open Chess Championship.

GM Ivkov, 73, will bring a profound sense of chess history to the event, to be staged July 7 to 15 in Ottawa at the Ottawa Marriott.

Gm Borislav Ivkov, left, vs. GM Victor Korchnoi at the 2006 European Senior Chess Championship. Gm Korchnoi, won the battle, but GM Ivkov won the tournament.

GM Ivkov won the first World Junior Championship in 1951 in Birmingham. He played chess at the highest level during the 1950s and 1960s, and played GM Bent Larsen in a Candidate’s quarter final in 1965. GM Ivkov played Bobby Fischer at least half a dozen times between 1959 and 1970.

With a FIDE rating of 2430, GM Ivkov remains a fierce competitor today. Last year, more than 50 years after his world junior championship title, GM Ivkov won the European Senior Chess Championship European Senior Individual Championship 2006 with an outstanding 8/9 score, ahead of higher-rated rivals that included GMs Korchnoi, Cebalo and Jansa. GM Ivkov lost to GM Korchnoi in time trouble, but won all his other games.

Borislav Ivkov - Vlastimil Jansa, 2006 European Senior Chess Championship
1. Nf3 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. d4 d6 4. c4 Bg4 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. d5 Ne5 7. Be2 Bxf3 8. Bxf3 Nxf3+ 9. Qxf3 Nf6 10. O-O O-O 11. Rb1 a6 12. Bd2 c6 13. Rfe1 Nd7 14. Qe2 Qc7 15. Rec1 Rfc8 16. b3 Qd8 17. a4 Qf8 18. a5 Bd4 19. Na4 Qg7 20. b4 Qe5 21. Qf3 Qf6 22. Be3 Qxf3 23. gxf3 Bxe3 24. fxe3 Rab8 25. c5 Ne5 26. Kg2 Rc7 27. Rc3 Rd8 28. Nb6 Kf8 29. Rbc1 f5 30. cxd6 exd6 31. f4 Ng4 32. h3 Nf6 33. exf5 gxf5 34. dxc6 Ne4 35. R3c2 Rg7+ 36. Kh2 bxc6 37. Rg2 Rxg2+ 38. Kxg2 Ke7 39. Rxc6 Rg8+ 40. Kf1 Rg3 41. b5 Rf3+ 42. Kg1 Rg3+ 43. Kh2 Ke6 44. bxa6 Rg7 45. Nc8 1-0

GM Ivkov is the 12th Grandmaster to confirm his participation in the 2007 Canadian Open. Topping the field are super-Grandmasters Nigel Short, Vadim Milov and Sergey Tiviakov.

For more information on the 2007 Canadian Open, which boasts a projected prize fund of $25,000 based on 200 entries, visit: www.canchess.ca. The site includes links to register online and reserve accommodation at the Ottawa Marriott, where single/double rooms are discounted to $89/night (reservations must be made before June 6th).

GMs Bluvshtein and Yermolinsky, IM Day and others featured in Canadian Open side events

The organizers of the 2007 Canadian Open Chess Championship are pleased to announce some of the tournament's side events:

GM Mark Bluvshtein will kick off the 2007 Canadian Open with a 25-board simul on the evening of July 6th. The event is presented by Bell Canada.

IM Lawrence Day will launch his book on the late Canadian IM Bryon Nickoloff. IM Day will give a short talk, take questions and sign copies of the book.

GM Alex Yermolinsky, former U.S. champion and the renowned author of The Road to Chess Improvement and Chess Explained: The Classical Sicilian, will lecture on The Classical Sicilian. He will also sign copies of his books.

GM Suat Atalik of Turkey, rated 2584 FIDE, and his wife WGM Ekaterina Atalik, rated 2374 FIDE, will give a tandem simul.

GM Viorel Iordachescu of Moldova, rated 2587 FIDE, will give a simul.

The dates and entry fees for the events are still to be determined.

More side events are in the works. A blitz tournament is planned. So too is a bughouse (double chess) tourney.

Further details will be announced soon, as will a breakdown of the Canadian Open prize fund.

The entry fee for the event is $125 until the end of May. After, it will be $150 till July 6, and $175 at the playing site.

The 2007 Canadian Open will be staged from July 7 to 15 at the Ottawa Marriott. For more information and to register online or reserve accommodation, visit: www.canchess.ca.

Two more GMs confirmed for 2007 Canadian Open

Two more Grandmasters -- GM Viorel Iordachescu of Moldova and GM Tomas Likavsky of Slovakia -- are confirmed to play in the 2007 Canadian Open Chess Championship.

GM Iordachescu is rated 2587 FIDE. He has been over 2600, and is a true chess globetrotter who in recent years has played in the Bahamas, as well as in Dubai, England, Holland, Italy, Libya, Romania and Spain.

GM Likavsky, rated 2485 FIDE, played last year in the Tournoi International de Montréal Empresa 2006. His participation in the Canadian Open this year is due to the kind support of the Embassy of the Republic of Slovakia in Ottawa.

These elite players join a field of more than 140 players so far. The group includes 11 Grandmasters, topped by former World Championship contender Nigel Short.

The 2007 Canadian Open will be staged from July 7 to 15 at the Ottawa Marriott. For more information and to register online or reserve accommodation, visit: www.canchess.ca.

The entry fee for the event is $125 until the end of May. After, it will be $150 till July 6, and $175 at the playing site.

Two Canadian IMs confirmed for Canadian Open

International Masters Leonid Gerzhoy and Tom O'Donnell have confirmed their participation in the 2007 Canadian Open Chess Championship.

IM Gerzhoy, who has a FIDE rating of 2398, is Canada's reigning Junior Chess Champion and the Chess Champion of Toronto. He will be representing Canada in the World Junior Chess Championship later this year in Yerevan, Armenia.

IM O'Donnell, of Ottawa, has played on four Canadian Chess Olympiad teams: Thessalonika, Greece (1988); Novi Sad, Yugoslavia (1990); Manila, Philippines (1992); and Moscow, Russia (1994). He has won the championships of British Columbia (1988), Ontario (1988) and Quebec (1992). He gained his IM title based on a series of tournaments he played in Hungary in 1990-91.

The 2007 Canadian Open takes place in Ottawa at the Ottawa Marriott from July 7-15. For more information and to register online or reserve accommodation, visit: http://canchess.ca.

The entry fee for the 2007 Canadian Open is $125 until the end of May. After, till July 6, it is $150. At the playing venue, it will be $175.

Status Report on the Canadian Youth Chess Championships 2007

From the Organizing Committee, a status report on the 2007 Canadian Youth Chess Championship:

Participants in this year's Canadian Youth Chess Championships are in for a treat. The event will be held in the storied Fairmont Chateau Laurier in the heart of downtown Ottawa following the Canada Day celebrations. After registering on the holiday Monday at Ottawa's City Hall (just steps away from the Chateau Laurier), competitors will be welcomed with hospitality by Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien and introduced to the CYCC's Honorary Chair, GM Susan Polgar, four-time women's world champion and renowned advocate for chess for kids.

The next morning, Polgar will make the ceremonial first move as the tournament begins and some 200 of the best young players in the country compete for the right to proclaim themselves Canada’s best for their age groups. Games will be broadcast in the skittles room, across Canada and around the world over the Internet using the MonRoi system. After each round, the young players may analyze their games with the tournament's Master-in-Residence, Thomas Roussel-Roozmon, himself a former Canadian youth champion. All registrants will also receive a one-year subscription to the World Chess Network online chess club.

On Friday afternoon, the winners will be determined. That evening, they and their parents will be transported to the residence of Turkey's Ambassador to Canada to be briefed on what awaits the qualified players this November in Antalya and be presented by the Chess Federation of Canada with their "Passports to Turkey." Super-GM Nigel Short, a former prodigy, will share his experiences with these leaders of a new generation of chessplayers.

In all, it should be a week to remember for these remarkable young Canadians and their supportive parents. The event has been organized by a team of unpaid volunteers and made possible by the generous support of corporate sponsors including a number of chartered banks and leading law firms, private donors and, above all, TELUS Inc. as the major sponsor for the championships.

The event will be covered in the electronic and print media, including The Ottawa Citizen, media sponsor for the event, and broadcast over the Internet.

We would also like to remind prospective CYCC registrants that the registration fee is $150 until June 29, 2007 (after which a $50 late fee will apply). However to encourage early bird registrations, we will be holding a draw for those registering on or before May 31 and another draw on June 15, 2007. The draw winners will receive two museum admission vouchers for the Museum of Civilization, Canadian War Museum and Museum of Nature.

We expect that the 2007 Canadian Youth Chess Championship will be a thrill of a lifetime for all of the kids participating in this event. We look forward to seeing you in Ottawa this July.

More information about the Canadian Youth Chess Championship can be found at http://canchess.ca/.

To learn more about TELUS, please visit http://www.telus.com/

Visit Susan Polgar online at http://www.susanpolgar.com/ and http://www.susanpolgar.blogspot.com/